The sixth mass extinction (灭绝) is not a worry for the future. It’s happening now, much faster than expected before, and it’s entirely our fault, according to a study published Monday.

Humans have already wiped out hundreds of species (物种) and pushed many more to the edge (边缘) of extinction through wildlife trade, pollution and habitat loss. 1.

Gerardo Ceballos Gonzalez, a professor of ecology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said approximately 173 species died out between 2001 and 2014, which is 25 times more extinct species than you would expect under the normal, background, extinction speed.

2. There have been five mass extinction (大规模灭绝) events in the Earth’s history, each wiping out between 70% and 95% of the species of plants, animals and microorganisms. The most recent, 66 million years ago, saw dinosaurs disappear.

The past events were caused by terrible changes of the environment The sixth mass extinction - the one happening now - is different: it’s caused by humans.

3. But it took millions of years to restore(恢复)the number of species.

When one species in the ecosystem disappears, it destroys the entire ecosystem and pushes other species toward destruction. 4.

Hundreds of species of frogs are suffering population decrease and extinctions because of the chytrid fungus (真菌) disease, which is sometimes spread into new areas by humans. Climate change is likely making it worse.

5. The researchers also said the current COVID-19 shows how the carelessness with which people treat the natural world can backfire badly.

The researchers said this data highlights the urgency (紧急) with which the world needs to act. Later this year, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is expected to set new global goals to fight the ongoing biodiversity (生物多样性) problem in the coming decades.

A.Mass extinctions are just as serious as their name suggests.

B.This interdependency (相互依存) of different species is bad news for humans, too.

C.But the speed at which species are dying out has quickened up in recent decades.

D.We humans are destroying the biodiversity of the world we evolved into.

E.Life on Earth has recovered after each of these events.

F.The researchers use amphibians (两栖动物) as an example of this phenomena.

G.Many species have evolved to deal with climate changes.

    It was decades ago now, but it’s still one of the most memorable conversations of my life. On a long, slow train heading north, with nothing to do but watch the rain, the man sitting opposite began trying to talk to me. Like most young women who have learned the hard way to be careful of strangers, I was unfriendly. But curiosity took over when he said that he was just bored, and liked talking.

So that’s what we did for hours and hours as the man turned out to be quite talkative. When the train finally pulled in, we didn’t change numbers. However, I still think about it sometimes on long, boring journeys, before getting a phone out and scrolling silently like everyone else. It’s a rare person who can cheerfully break the social rule about not talking to strangers without any ill intention, but life would be more interesting if more of us knew how to do it.

And that’s why I can’t be as cynical as I probably should be about “Tube Chat” campaign launched to encourage Britons to talk to each other. All anyone is being asked to do is to start a conversation they wouldn’t otherwise have had — maybe with a friend from whom they’ve been apart or a neighbor they don’t know.

Obviously, it takes more than a bit of small talk over garden fences to unite strangers together. More people live alone than did so a generation ago, and the rise in freelancing（自由职业）means more of us work alone too. We socialize increasingly through screens, sending texts instead of bothering to call.

It’s true that the “Tube Chat” campaign of a few years back failed in its attempts to make Londoners talk to each other on public transport. But even city people who would normally die rather than make eye contact with strangers still happily gather in large numbers by the Thames for the New Year’s Eve fireworks. They would get a far better view at home on television — it’s not really about the fireworks, but about being part of something communal (公共的).

There’s no guarantee (保证) that this latest campaign to reconnect will succeed wherever others have failed. But if there ever a moment to stop social disbelief it may start a fire to warm a world that sometimes feels cold. Wherever my train friend is now, ________.

1.The author introduced her train friend to ________.

A.share her most memorable but boring journey

B.express her deep regret for losing touch with him

C.show that talking to strangers can add interest to life

D.explain why people are becoming indifferent

2.The underlined word “cynical” is closest in meaning to ________.

A.doubtful B.supportive C.confused D.disappointed

3.The example of Londoners gathering for the New Year’s Eve fireworks is used to show that ________.

A.“Tube Chat”, failed in its attempts to unite strangers together

B.it’s hard to break the social rule about not talking to strangers

C.people have a wish to be socially connected by nature

D.“Tube Chat” made some difference to reconnecting people

4.Which of the following best fits in the blank in the last paragraph?

A.I hope he’s still talking B.I hope he is still as interesting

C.I will miss him forever D.I will try to get in touch with him

5.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A.Keep our desire to connect. B.Avoid talking to strangers.

C.Show respect for social disbelief D.Socialize with our friends.

    New climate-control jackets have helped people stay warm in subzero conditions, and even made cows comfortable enough to produce more milk. But it all began with an Indian graduate’s simple wish for clothing that could be used for both the cold Boston winters and heated MIT campus rooms. Now, the MIT graduated company has begun selling the jackets and other clothes that allow wearers to control their level of comfort without adding or removing layers. “Our products can go from 0°C to 100 °C in the push of a button,” said Vistakula, founder and CEO of the company. “We have four levels of heating and four levels of cooling that include low, medium, high and very high.”

When electricity runs through the junction where two different metals meet, it creates a temperature difference so that one side heats up and the other side cools down. Such heat-exchange equipment also needs fans to blow away the heat. “We were able to reduce the weight and get rid of the need for a fan,” Vistakula told Innovation News Daily. “That made it very suitable to put it into clothes.”

The current clothing runs on a range of laptop batteries (电池) that can support up to eight hours of hot or cold comfort. Aside from shoes, jackets and bike helmets, the startup also sells knee and elbow packs that provide hot or cold therapy (疗法) for aching joints. That’s just the beginning, as the 20-person team tries many new and different applications (应用) in the search to find what works. They have their eyes set on a “HaemoSave” application that could use freezing temperatures to control bleeding, and pain during medical emergencies. “That’s at a very early stage,” Vistakula explained.

“It works for superficial (表面的) wounds, but we have to do deeper wounds and see what happens.” In another case, tests with jackets adapted for cows succeeded in enabling the cows to produce more milk. But the current costs mean that farmers can’t afford such equipment - at least not until the company scales up its production and lowers the price.

It’s an ambitious goal, but their confidence is supported by the startup’s innovation (创新) philosophy. “Nature has been innovating for billions of years, so you just have to look in the right place,” Vistakula said. “If you go looking for answers, you’ll find them.”

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A.The technology were first designed to control climate.

B.The clothing is user-friendly with a simple push of button.

C.The clothing runs on batteries that can last at least eight hours.

D.The clothing needs fans to create a temperature difference.

2.According to Vistakula, next they have to test whether HaemoSave can ________.

A.be applied to reduce pain B.be used to control bleeding

C.function for deeper wounds D.make body temperatures low

3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A.the technology doesn’t work well in practice

B.the technology can be widely applied in life

C.the company will increase production to meet market needs

D.the company is now facing a very uncertain future

4.What can we conclude from what Vistakula said in the last paragraph?

A.We can probably innovate anything in nature.

B.Innovation should be encouraged to protect nature.

C.It has taken billions of years for nature to change.

D.We should innovate as it agrees with Nature.

    Shakespeare’s Family Homes Pass

Enter the world of Shakespeare and see the places that inspired a genius, with entry to five historic properties (房产) in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The properties:

Shakespeare’s Birthplace --- Enjoy a multimedia exhibition and live theatre

Hall’s Croft ---Visit the traditional herb gardens and home of Shakespeare’s daughter

Susanna Anne Hathaway’s Cottage --- Hear readings of Shakespeare’s most popular sonnets Maty Arden’s Farm---Watch falconry displays and traditional crafts

Shakespeare’s New Place --- Walk in the footsteps of Shakespeare and explore where he wrote some of his most iconic works like his four tragedies (悲剧).

Price        Adult (（18+）)             £20

Child （3-17）            £10    Under 3: free

Concession （优惠）    £15    60+ and students （18-25） with ID

*Tickets are valid (有效) for one visit to each of your 5 properties in a 72 hour period,

*Please note that customers who are disabled can buy a concession ticket and then will be able to have one carer admitted free.

Opening dates and times

Winter Season: 4 November 2019 - 15 March 2020

Shakespeare’s BirthPlace: open Monday - Sunday, 10am - 4pm

Shakespeare’s New Place: open Monday - Sunday, 10am - 4pm

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage: open Monday - Sunday, 10am - 4pm

Halls Croft: open Monday - Sunday, 11am-4pm

Mary Arden’s Farm: closed

*Shakespeare’s BirthPlace, Shakespeare’s New Place, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage: open on the 24 December 10am-lpm, closed 25-26 December.

Spring/Summer/Autumn Season: 16 March 2020 - 1 November 2020

Shakespeare’s BirthPlace and Anne Hathaway’s Cottage: open Monday - Sunday, 9am - 5pm.

Shakespeare’s New Place, Hall’s Croft and Mary Arden’s Farm: open Monday - Sunday 10am-5pm

Closing times listed above are last entry.

Houses close 30 minutes after last entry.

1.According to the advertisement, visitors can ________.

A.hear Shakespeare’s sonnets at Shakespeare’s Birthplace

B.explore where he created some of his master works

C.visit the properties many times with the ticket in 72 hours

D.visit the 5 properties free of charge on Christmas Day

2.If Tom, who is disabled, visits the properties with his wife and 13-year-old son, he should at least pay ________.

A.£10 B.£25 C.£30 D.£50

3.Li Hua, a fan of Shakespeare from China, will visit Shakespeare’s BirthPlace on July 25. He should exit at the latest before ________.

A.4:00 pm B.4:30pm C.5:00pm D.5:30 pm

假设你是李华，你上周刚刚参加了你校举办的第十届英语演讲比赛，并从三十名选手中脱颖而出，荣获“十佳奖”。在准备参赛期间，你的外教Mr.Craige对你提供了很多指导和帮助。现请你用英语给他写一封感谢信，内容包括：

1.获奖情况及感受；    2.回顾准备过程；   3.感谢他的帮助；    4.邀他来家做客。

注意：1．词数100词左右；   2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

提示：十佳奖：Top Ten Prize  

Dear Mr. Craige,

Yours,

Li Hua

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(Λ)，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除:把多余的用斜线(\)划掉。

修改:在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意:(1)每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

(2)只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。

Do you believe love is the most important? In the early twenty century, homeless people were often brought up in orphanages, in that they received little love. At one time, Dr. Skeels took twelve children from an art orphanage or had a young girl look them each day. He also studied another the twelve children who are left in the orphanage all day long. He followed these children until they grew up, and the results were shocked. The children staying all day in the orphanage were either dead or suffering from serious illnesses. However, the twelve children loved by the girl were all healthy and independently. The only differences between these children -- the love, made a great difference to us.

请根据首字母和汉语,在空白处填入适当的单词或单词的正确形式。每空一词。

1.An excellent ideas o_____________（发生，出现）to me when I woke this morning.

2.You can see the arrow on the sign, i________________（指示）the way to go.

3.In my view, the a_______________（求职者）is well qualified for this job.

4.With the chance s___________（滑动）through your fingers, it is no use crying over spilt milk.

5.To his parents’ s______________（满意），Tom did well in his study.

6.10 members of s_____________(员工) were allocated the task.

7.There was an a_____________(废弃的) house by the riverside.

8.They all f________(逃离) from the burning building last night.

9.The escaped prisoner was d_________(拉) out of the cave.

10.The smaller lake ranges from 5 to 14 feet in d_________(深度).

11.This kind of desk can be a__________(调整，调节) to the height you need.

12.The other day, I p__________ (购买)some books, which cost me more than 500 yuan.

13.Sara a______________(承认) her mistake and apologized immediately.

14.I made an a____________(道歉) for what I said just now.

15.He has made an adequate p_______________(准备) for the wedding.

16.The parcel was sent to the wrong d_________________(目的地).

17.He t_________（轻拍）her on the shoulder.

18.It’s a            （明显的） that she has no intention of changing her mind.

19.He has a strong o___________ （反对）to teaming up with the newcomer.

20.Study hard, or you will be b__________（肯定）to fail the examination.

    Everyone should go to his or her 50th high school reunion. There was a time I thought I’d never go even if the opportunity _______. But now I feel _______for people who don’t go.

I went to the _______of my high school on a Saturday evening, and I am glad I did. It was a  gift to recognize some _______classmates right away — and to be recognized. _______, we had name tags and our _______photos on our clothing to help identify us. I recognized one woman immediately!

The most memorable and moving experience of the night was _______by a schoolmate and neighbor to whom I was once close. Unfortunately, we had a falling out in the high school. I never saw her after _______, but this time, I saw her name on a place setting. At first, I feared that I would _______her. But my better self won over, and I __________ her out. I kept looking until I got a(n) __________on my shoulder. There she was __________. We hugged as if nothing had ever __________and exchanged affectionate words. When the party __________, my old-new friend walked towards me, __________me again and wished me well. I returned her good wishes. All the bad __________melted into thin air.

I am grateful I had this __________to reunite with old classmates. After all, we are almost __________the final lap of our lifelong journeys. Some classmates had already left this __________, and their names were deleted from the list. Sometimes we have to walk back into the past because time does heal old wounds. We’re not the __________people. We are better people.

1.A.came down B.came up C.came through D.came off

2.A.sorry B.happy C.excited D.moved

3.A.competition B.reunion C.exhibition D.concert

4.A.latter B.former C.present D.future

5.A.Unluckily B.Unwillingly C.Normally D.Thankfully

6.A.old B.recent C.modern D.new

7.A.described B.provided C.promised D.ordered

8.A.graduation B.invitation C.retirement D.punishment

9.A.stare at B.turn to C.run into D.rely on

10.A.let B.drove C.sought D.pushed

11.A.instruction B.blow C.kiss D.tap

12.A.reading B.singing C.smiling D.dancing

13.A.happened B.changed C.disappeared D.mentioned

14.A.began B.ended C.continued D.lasted

15.A.encouraged B.praised C.hugged D.judged

16.A.news B.scores C.excuses D.memories

17.A.qualification B.situation C.talent D.chance

18.A.missing B.destroying C.nearing D.wasting

19.A.world B.city C.school D.class

20.A.important B.serious C.successful D.same

    Food pictures that you display on WeChat can look more stylish if you follow our tips. 36.1.

※ Styling accompanied by a story

2. Some might want to tell about the person who is eating the dish. Whether it’s your first meal at a Chinese restaurant or a birthday party at a cozy cafeteria, describe the surroundings and background as well as the reason that made you choose the food in the picture.

※ Choose natural lighting

Flash is not as flattering as natural light. The latter makes pictures look much better. The only problem is that you can hardly find natural light in bars, cafes and restaurants. 3. If you are having your lunch or dinner outside, remember to find a place with shadow since direct sunlight casts shadows on food and other items.

※ Pick your angle(视角)

Choose the right angle. One of the best positions is shooting from the top down. This is how you’ll show the whole table. You might sometimes need to climb on a chair to take that perfect shot! 4. You may try and hold your dish out in front of you. Do not hesitate to ask a random person to stand behind you and take the shot for you. Vertical pictures are also worth your attention.

※5.

Use various filters(滤镜) to keep your shots more attractive. But don’t be restricted by them. Experiment a bit and see which app is your favorite.

A.Adjust the size and brightness.

B.Go beyond the Instagram filter

C.Eye level shots(照片) look irresistible(不可抵制的).

D.What you can do is to take your dish and walk over to a window.

E.Next are some means to tell you how to take a good picture of food.

F.There are a few ways to help you make your food shots more unique.

G.Before you take a picture, think about what you can tell your followers about it.

    Teenagers’fitness is now a major concern, and physical exercise is very important. It reduces stress and improves fitness. Exercise makes your body strong, and helps you to keep the right body weight. Sports scientist Dr. Helen Lopez offers the following advice to teenagers: “First, you need to find out your present level of fitness. Then you can design a programme that will help you become healthier.”

Dr. Lopez suggests that there are three levels of fitness that need a change of lifestyle. “Overweight” means that the person gets very little exercise and often has a serious weight problem. “Inactive” means that the person does not join in many physical activities, but is not seriously overweight. “Active” refers to people who take part in sports and other physical activities, but do not have a high fitness level.

According to Dr. Lopez, overweight teenagers should work out to keep healthy. “Ride a bike, play volleyball or basketball for a while, and go for a twenty-minute walk each day. All these will help to burn calories.” Inactive teenagers should do similar activities, but add some bending and stretching exercises, such as push-ups and sit-ups, starting with twenty of each a day. “Inactive people can take a little more exercise than overweight people because their bodies are stronger,” Dr. Lopez said. The same rule applies to (适用于) active teenagers.

Dr. Lopez suggests one hour a week or more on running and other forms of intensive exercise, together with fifteen minutes a day spent on stretching and bending activities.

“These are really important in order to prevent injuries,” Dr. Lopez said. Some weight-training and other body-strengthening exercises could also be planned in the programme in order to increase the person’s strength.

1.What can we learn from the passage?

A.Active people always have a high fitness level.

B.Overweight people always take more exercise.

C.Inactive teenagers are not seriously overweight.

D.Keeping fit means changing teenagers’lifestyle.

2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text?

A.Physical exercise can make the teenagers grow taller.

B.Physical exercise can help teenagers become healthier.

C.Physical exercise can help to burn up calories.

D.Physical exercise can increase teenagers’strength.

3.What exercise should people do in order to prevent injuries?

A.Walking.

B.Stretching and bending.

C.Riding.

D.Weight training.

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A.Doing Exercise B.Teenagers’Fitness

C.Different Lifestyles D.Overweight Teenagers